Federal judge stalls Obama’s executive action on immigration

A federal judge has granted a request by a coalition of 26 states to temporarily block President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration while its lawsuit to permanently stop the order goes through the courts. US District Judge Andrew Hanen granted a preliminary injunction Monday, after hearing arguments at a hearing in Brownsville, Texas, in January. The federal government is expected to appeal Hanen’s ruling to the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The Justice Department had no immediate comment. Obama’s executive action aims to spare from deportation as many as five million people who are in the US illegally.